Isabelle, the one smiling in the blue sweater, is 16 years old. What’s right? She is healthy. She is carrying crystal clear water from a tap just minutes from her home. She is in school. She’s among the top 5 in her class. And she is not married.

World Vision believes that ending extreme poverty is possible, but it won’t happen as long as half the population is held back from reaching their full potential. The evidence is indisputable, when girls and women get equal access and opportunity - progress is accelerated, families are stronger, and communities are more prosperous.

The reality is, women and girls living in poverty face significant barriers in every area of their lives. That’s why we focus on equipping and empowering women and girls in all areas of our work.

“As a neighbor, I saw the wedding related activities and got suspicious,” says Rojina, a 16-year-old from a village in Basanti. She knew Ajmira from school and was concerned when she saw the planning going on at her home.

Ajmira confirmed her suspicions when they met in school. “My parents are forcing me to get married,” Ajmira told Rojina. Ajmira is only fourteen. This plunged Rojina into sadness. What was she to do? “Before World Vision, I did not know child marriage was wrong. But now I know, and I found out my neighbor was getting married,” says Rojina.

Rojina decided to confide in her best friend Regina, 17. Both girls are part of World Vision’s Girl Power group, which teaches girls to keep themselves and their friends safe. Regina says, “If we go directly, they won’t listen to us and they will scold us. They might even take their daughter somewhere and get her married in secret. Being a child and we are girls...will they listen to us?” This way of thinking percolates from the elders in the community to the children. A girl child is low in the “pecking order” - girls are rarely allowed to express their own thoughts or feelings, and they are not taught to speak with confidence in public settings. These cultural pressures create an environment where girls fear telling the truth or seeking help from adults. They feel helpless when they, or their friends, experience abuse through child marriage, rape or physical violence.

Each year, more than 3 million girls are at risk of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C). February 6, the United Nations’ International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, is a time to bring this serious issue to light.

Girls’ rights are violated and their potential crushed when they are subjected to FGM/C and have their external genitalia cut. Best estimates are that 200 million women and girls alive today have suffered FGM/C. There is no medical reason for this traditional practice, and no benefit for the girl. Girls who have been cut often experience life-long dire effects, such as pain, infections, bleeding, difficult childbirth, and incontinence.

A World Vision Child Protection Officer meets with Sabina* (r) and Kibset* (l) at Morpus School

Sabina, a 15-year-old girl in West Pokot, Kenya, has escaped a forced marriage and is working to prevent other girls from undergoing Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting. Sabina was married off immediately after undergoing FGM/C at age 13.

She recalls that sorrowful day: "I just heard from my siblings that someone was bringing beer home (a sign of people coming for a bride), and in no time I was whisked away forcefully by several men."

He has become the face of Child Protection in West Pokot County, a voice for the protection of girls escaping the violence of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C), child marriage and neglect. Meet James Lokuk, Head Teacher of Morpus Primary School in West Pokot. The eighth-born of 11 children, James (53) has 8 children of his own with his wife, Jane. “I was born here in Morpus area, and I went to this same school and even wore this uniform,” he quipped, pointing at the maroon sweater, yellow shirt and maroon shorts worn by the children.

More than 250 men, women, and young people from around the globe came together for World Vision’s 14th Annual Strong Women Strong World Event in New York on November 30. They learned more about the plight of women and girls in the developing world, and what World Vision is doing about it.

In her keynote speech, First Lady of Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame said, “Women and girls are capable of bringing about significant change to their environment, despite obstacles that stand in the way of their advancement. If the existing impediments to women's advancement were removed from their paths, the impact of change could be more powerful."

The evidence is indisputable. When girls and women have better access and opportunity, progress is accelerated. Children are better cared for, families are stronger, and communities are more prosperous. World Vision has been deeply engaged in gender equality work for decades. It’s integrated into everything we do— at every stage of a girl’s life.

Instead of celebrating adolescence, 19-year-old, mother of two, Malita, recalls days filled with pain and societal seclusion, which resulted in her dropping out of school. Malita remembers that she and her female peers had to endure taunts and stigmas at school where there was no support as they went through adolescence.

Essential human rights, liberty, and dignity are being torn from millions of people today. They’re sexually exploited, forced into labor, domestic servitude, and thrown into begging and stealing in an illicit multi-billion-dollar enterprise known as human trafficking.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.